Fruitful forum whets, feeds Black History Month appetite

RALEGH — So many firsts in this room.

Like Jason Armstrong. The town of Apex never had a Black police chief until he was sworn in a few years ago in 2021.

It was progress, and it’s the sort of momentum America stands to lose if like-minded people don’t vote during this election season and otherwise recommit to civic engagement. That was the sentiment among six panelists assembled Feb. 7 in Shaw University’s Estey Hall for the second edition of “I Am Black History,” an idea exchange and trip down memory lane featuring local Black leaders.

Come November, Black people are projected to account for 14% of eligible voters in the United States, according to Pew Research Center. That doesn’t mean they’ll all vote. Apathy abounds.

In the 2020 presidential election when Joe Biden beat Donald Trump, Black people represented 13.5% of the vote.

Among those in the audience for “I Am Black History” were football players from both Enloe and Southeast Raleigh high schools. Chief Armstrong said his 17-year-old son looks like many of them. It’s what motivates him to serve and protect to make it so young Black men can walk around friending police officers, not fearing them.

So many firsts in this room.

There was Marchell Adams-David, who in 2020 was chosen as the first Black city manager for the city of Raleigh. She traced her ascension to the individual who taught her what it means to be loved, her grandfather, a man with only a third-grade education offset with wisdom and a great, big heart. That nurturing from him is what shaped her to show up to work every day understanding that letting down a half-million Raleigh residents is not an option.

“Service is a calling, and it’s not for everybody. And public service is truly a calling,” Adams-David said.

Adams-David doesn’t get that opportunity to serve if not for, again, civic engagement and — here’s where Shaw University President and CEO Paulette Dillard really leaned in — education.

“Don’t buy this narrative that you don’t need an education,” Dillard told the high school student-athletes, in particular. “Play football. But graduate and get that degree.”

James Jones, a freshman defensive lineman for Enloe, asked Armstrong what kind of education is required to become a police officer. The chief said a degree in criminal justice actually isn’t necessary, contrary to popular belief. Individuals can learn what they need to know during police academy and on the job, he said. Armstrong did not dismiss college but instead advised Jones to choose a major that’ll add value to a police force.

“Find a degree that separates you,” Armstrong explained.

Someone with a finance degree, for example, could help a police department investigate fraud cases, said Armstrong, a graduate of the inaugural Obama Foundation Leaders USA program.

So many firsts in this room.

In 2023, Jessica Holmes was sworn in as North Carolina’s state auditor, making her the first Black woman with a seat at the table of the North Carolina Council of State. David Ellis is the first Black manager of Wake County. It’s history. Period.

“We need to be speaking about African American history every day,” Ellis said.

“This shouldn’t be the standard for February,” Armstrong said. “This should be the standard every day.”

Exactly, said Terrell Midgett, who organized the event.

“These young men need to see Black men and Black women in these spaces, and see that these are everyday people doing extraordinary things,” said Midgett, co-owner of Management Professionals Inc. and managing partner of Raleigh Raised Development.

Midgett said part of the reason he keeps coordinating “I Am Black History” at Shaw University — his alma mater — is to expose young people to a historically Black campus. And in so doing they hear the story of Warrick Scott’s grandfather, Wendell, the first Black person to both race full time in the NASCAR premier series and win a race in it. Wendell Scott became the first Black person to own a NASCAR team.

Warrick Scott, the CEO of the Wendell Scott Foundation, was a basketball player at Shaw University.

“I was able to find myself here. I was able to feel protected and grow here,” Warrick Scott said.

In other words, Warrick Scott was able to learn how to learn. That’s Dillard’s point.

“The ability to think, learn, decide and create is based on your ability to be a lifelong learner,” Dillard said. “Get an education. That was the gamechanger for our people.”

The rise of Black people over the years also had a lot to do with collaboration that was intentional and focused, and that still needs to be a thing, Dillard said.

“The biggest thing that we don’t leverage enough is our networks,” Dillard said.

If Wendell Scott could navigate a NASCAR circuit that wasn’t particularly welcoming to Black people, and if formerly enslaved people could endure and emerge and excel, then “shame on us if we can’t deal with what is happening in our world today,” Dillard said. “Have a dream, commit to it and work toward it.”

Holmes couldn’t resist:  She polled the audience, asking how many in there knew Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. Hands all over the room went up.

Then Holmes flipped it.

“How many of you know what your dream is?” Holmes asked. “I see fewer hands. That’s my point.”

“I Am Black History” returns Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. in Estey Hall.